Review Blog

Jul 26 2013

Let's paint by Alborozo

Allen and Unwin, 2013. ISBN 9781743313695.
(Age: 3+) Picture book. Art. Experimenting. This joyous colour
filled book that will encourage and delight young readers to try
something for themselves will be a hit amongst parents and early
childhood teachers alike.
From the different coloured dog prints on the front endpapers
through all the different experiments with paints and paint brushes
and canvasses through to the endpapers showing coloured human foot
prints, the book encourages children to try their hand at painting.
Faced with a blank canvas and a handful of paint, the question is
what if I make a mistake. The answer that there are no mistakes in art
can be very salutary to the young beginner. Then ideas crowd in as
the reader is told that ideas come from anywhere, they can be big or
small, uninvited or collected. From there the reader is shown a
variety of different methods with some pages hinting at the artist
who used this technique. The author then shows the reader that it
can be scary or embarrassing, but whatever, it is important that the
painter has fun!
The lightly sketched illustrations do not overwhelm, the colour is
filled with fun and interest, inviting the reader to run out and get
some paint and get painting.
Fran Knight